Category: Family & Friends
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Present Imperfect
Just after midnight I get out of bed, double-check the calendar, and put the bag on the dining room table. At 5:45am, I search for light and hope I’m not late. My slippers flip-flop on the path in the pitch black. I ring the doorbell, a vision in robe and FrankenHair. Happy birthday to you,… Read more
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The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
When I was a kid, my brother and I were allowed to choose kittens from the litter of a stray cat. My mother wanted only one cat for the longterm, so she told us that at some future time one of the two would be given away. When that time came, my brother’s cat, Percy,… Read more
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Inscription
Pierre explained that it was customary for guests to write their names on pieces of wood to mark their stash of bottles in Marco and Rod’s cave. So I’ve heard, I nodded. (A charming idea to ascribe such permanence to something so ephemeral.) But we cycled through so much wine that summer that it never… Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 5 of 5
See other posts in the series: P1 P2 P3 P4 ***** A satisfying read is dependent upon two critical components: what is read and when. Up the book comes, then down the book goes if the timing isn’t right. Released in 2011, it’s taken two years for Theresa Kishkan’s memoir, Mnemonic: A Book of Trees, to find its way to… Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 3 of 5
I grew up in a loving family but I wasn’t like them in so many ways. Our family culture centred on hockey, baseball, camping trips in summer. I couldn’t even begin to describe to them how the world shimmered for me, how I heard voices in the rustling of leaves, that I cried when I… Read more
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Eats Shoots and Frames
I couldn’t have ripped-off a better title for today’s piece. This week I sandwiched the framing of a friend’s bunkie between shooting the glories of summer on Waupoos Island, Prince Edward County. The county is a renowned foodie heaven, overflowing with traditional farming, artisanal food producers, cideries, vineyards and fine craft, all underpinned by the history… Read more
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In the Footsteps of Madeline in Paris
In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. Read more
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The Gift of St. Luke’s Summer
The first killing frost has passed and our eastern Indian Summer has arrived. Folklore has it that this stretch of warm weather predictably arrives on or about October 18th, the Feast of St. Luke. The natural world heads into dormancy while it marks the last kick-at-the-can for us northern hemisphere humans to romp semi-clothed, to… Read more
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Wet Paint
“The cats need to be locked up. They can’t walk on the painted floor or they’ll wreck it,” I said while I painted the entranceway floor (with oil-based paint). Read more
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What My Grandmother Was Doing 79 Years Ago Today
My paternal grandmother, Antoinette, was the illegitimate child of a French-born Count living in Switzerland and his mistress-employee, Francoise Mallet. Neighbours described Francoise as having fallen victim to “droit de seigneur,” and soon after her birth in 1907, Antoinette was brought to Montreal to be raised by a governess, Aldea Hogue, under the loving eyes… Read more